Lee hoping Galway Hurdle dream can come true with Sole Pretender

Norman Lee has only ever had a handful of horses capable of running at the Galway festival, never mind winning there, but this year the trainer has genuine reason to believe he can break his duck with live Guinness Galway Hurdle fancy Sole Pretender.

Described by Lee, who bases himself just half an hour away from Galway in Gort, as "by far the best horse I’ve ever had," Sole Pretender has won his last three starts, including a €50,000 handicap hurdle at Ballinrobe, teeing him up nicely for the €300,000 showpiece on August 1.

Entries for the feature race on Ladies Day, won last year by subsequent Grade 1 winner Sharjah, will be revealed on July 17.

Sole Pretender: unbeaten in his last three hurdle racesCredit: Patrick McCann

Lee is keen to keep things low-key with the horse, and said: "There's no point in talking things up and we're just trying to keep a lid on it. I know how fickle this game is. You're on top of the world one day and you're a b****x the next day because you didn't do this or you didn't do that.

"Things are going grand - it's three and a half weeks until Galway and we'll have to get there in one piece. He'll go to the Curragh for a day away between now and then.

"We've never had a winner at Galway, we were unlucky one year when we had a horse [Supreme Vic] finish second when she carried two pounds overweight.

"He was always a good horse and he's progressing nicely. We're delighted to have a horse for a race like the Galway Hurdle."

Sole Pretender is unbeaten since being fitted with a hood, during which time he has climbed from a rating from 116 to 147.

Lee continued: "He gets lit up at the races and the microphones light him up a bit. It's [the hood] nothing to do with him being ungenuine or anything like that, he just tries so hard and he's so enthusiastic.

Sole Pretender: is a general 10-1 shot to win the Guinness Galway HurdleCredit: Patrick McCann

"He's too enthusiastic and too genuine. On Galway Hurdle day there'll be plenty of noise but he'll have the hood on again."

On riding arrangements for the big day, Lee added: "Jack [Kennedy] and Andrew [Lynch] are out injured at the moment. Johnny [Burke] came over to ride him the last day so we'll see closer to the time and we'll decide that with the owner.

"He belongs to a decent man who's backed me since the day we started here. We've got some good owners in the yard but he's always backed me and he's been with me through thick and thin.

"When things were going bad he stuck with me and thank God he's still with me now that things are going good. He could have sold this horse a good few times but he didn't and we're just very lucky to have him.

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